Stuck in the "comfort zone"

I have been losing weight, and although I have lost inches in my stomach, it feels like I haven't seen much improvement there for weeks. I am not seeing the tape measure move at all. My husband says its time to start to doing ab work... I don't know why I am so resistant. For some reason the idea of doing any kind of ab work just sounds so unpleasant to me. I Pin new ideas all the time for "flat abs" but I rarely ever try them.

Honestly all strength work is hard for me. I have gotten into a nice routine of intense cardio, and I don't like the weights anymore. They look so cumbersome and bla over in the corner. But I know that strength training is essential for weight loss and body sculpting.

Sadly my strength training has diminished from 3 days a week, to one. Today I am determined to work on my abs. I have been scouring my Pin boards this morning for something new to do. I found this link back to Shape Magazine with 10 moves for flat stomach. So after my run, I will be doing this routine. http://www.shape.com/fitness/workouts/10-moves-flat-stomach/page/4

Friends keep telling me to join classes with them, and it's probably not a bad idea. I just have to find the time now. Truthfully, I am a little intimidated by the classes. I had a trainer before... I was sore all the time. He really pushed me and that freaks me out! I worry the classes will kick my ass. Which is what they are supposed to do. But like I said I have gotten comfortable.. too comfortable.

I think it's time to step out of my comfort zone and start really pushing myself again. Why does that sound so unappealing?

Addicted

So, armed with the knowledge that food can reward our brains in the same way that drugs or alcohol reward an addicts brain what can we do? If we can become just as addicted to food as someone might become to alcohol, or drugs then we are facing something quite huge. Anyone who knows anyone with an addiction, knows it's not as simple as "just quit." People have developed 12 steps programs, and we have rehab centers designed to help these people conquer their addiction. But what do we do when it's food?

When an addict is quitting they avoid the substance altogether. They even go as far as to stay away from people from their old lifestyle who would enable them or influence them to return to their bad habit. Avoiding alcohol can be done fairly simply (I'm not saying it's simple to quit) I am simply saying you don't have to buy it, or keep it in your home. You don't have to order it when you go out, and you can stay away from parties or event where you know lots of alcohol will be served. But food, food is necessary for living. You must eat to survive. So you have to face food every single day, several times a day. If we subjected addicts of any other kind to their vice that much we would never expect them to recover. Looking at it in these terms we can see why food addiction is such a huge hurdle.

Addiction also comes with emotional baggage. There are usually deep seeded emotional issues attached to your chosen vice. Food has become a therapist and a friend for many people. We even label foods in a way that makes it seem like it is supposed to help you, "comfort food." People run to food when they are stressed out, when they are depressed, when they are angry, or even when they are happy. Food plays an enormous role in our lives not just for survival, but also for social interaction. We serve food at get togethers big and small. We often meet friends for lunch, or dinner. We reward ourselves with food. The American relationship with food is a very complex one.

So how do you overcome a food addiction? How do you undo the vicious cycle that you have started? You have to stop the reward system. You have to stop feeding your brain the foods that caused the problem in the first place.

I am not a doctor or a nutritionist, but I am going to make the assumption that along with therapy, you have to make drastic changes. Cheat days don't exist for an addict. Alcoholics can't even have just one. Cocaine addicts don't get just one hit. So with food addicts the junk food, the sugar, the high fat foods simply have to go. Gone gone gone. Not just a little here, a little there. It has to be gone.

That is way easier said than done. I imagine it might be possible to make it a gradual process, or even just try cold turkey. I think the addition of therapy is HUGE. Finding the emotional links to your eating habits will help you to be much stronger in your conviction. Without resolving the deep issues, you will never really be able to overcome the addiction.

How do you know if you are addicted food? That's a hard one. I imagine many people who are, know. They know themselves, they have tried and failed so many times, and usually settled into a cozy corner of denial or defeat. But its' not impossible to overcome! I found this questionnaire on Google, it might be a good place to start.

I wanted to write about this to really shed some light on the issues people face when they attempt weight loss. I hate the idea that we tend to assume people are simply lazy. That is not always the case. If your issue is with food, I hope you are able to overcome it. I hope you are able to start first by admitting that it is in fact an addiction and then go from there so you can reach your weight loss goals. And if food is not your problem, I hope you will have just a little empathy an understanding for those who you previously assumed just couldn't put down the fork. It's not always that simple.


**images from Google**

Why we over eat

So I picked up Septembers issue of Scientific American, which happened to be their food issue. They had a super interesting article about how food addiction works, and what is going on in the brain. Basically science has discovered that people who are over weight tend to have high levels of leptin. Leptin is the chemical in our brain releases to tell your body that you are full. This seems crazy right? If they have higher levels of leptin why the heck are they over weight? Apparently their leptin levels are actually raised by their eating habits. Consistent over eating has lead to a desensitization to the leptin which leads the brain to regulate by sending out more leptin. What's more delicious foods actually stimulate the release of dopamine in the reward system of the brain, and like any addiction the more you eat these types of foods the more your brain wants the reward, and the more of the reward it takes to satisfy the brain. So we eat cheesecake, and we over do it, and over time our brain craves more and more, and it takes more and more to satisfy.

Food addiction is real. And it is amazing what it does to your brain. The study highlighted was done with rats. They gave some rats bland food, and some rats delicious junk foods. They then gave the rats a shock preceded by a blinking light. The rats eating the bland food would see the light and run away from the shock, but the rats eating the junk food would see the light and stay to eat. This follows the idea that even though we know we are destroying our  health we still eat ourselves to death. Diabetes, heart disease, and all the other horrible problems that come with obesity, we ignore them. And the earlier explanation of brain response shows us that we are not ignoring it because we are lazy, or stupid, we ignore because our brains crave that reward, we are addicted.

You can read more in depth about this in Scientific American September 2013 issue

This is part of the reason it is so hard to lose weight for some people. This is part of the reason we struggle, and many times fail over and over again in our attempts. This doesn't mean it's impossible. This also is not an excuse. But it is super interesting and somewhat validating for those who have struggled.

Making it fun again

This morning a friend invited me out for an early morning walk/trail run. It was a few minutes of walking followed by 1 minute of running. It was wonderful. I love to run, and I can get pretty uptight and rigid about my routine, but it was so nice to just be out in the fresh air and sunshine and get to chat with a friend. Two birds with one stone! I love that kind of thing.

I have also spent the last two evenings going on long walks with my husband, which I also love. It gives us time to talk and reconnect. It's one of my favorite things that we do. And we haven't done it in forever.

All of this got me thinking about how maybe I have become just a tad too uptight with my routine, and I need to start mixing it up again. Adding other activities in. I have become very set on my gym routine and forgotten there is whole world outside. I live in a great area with trails, and paths for hiking, and tons of opportunities to get outside and have fun while also burning calories. I need my work outs to fun again and not strictly functional. If you are getting bored or feel like you aren't seeing results, don't forget to try new things, mix it up and make it fun.

A hard week

We have successfully completed the first week of insanity, and not the crazy workout routine. We all started school this week, and oh my goodness, I had no idea how challenging it would be to keep up the weight loss. I have been able to keep within my calorie range every day, and I have worked out 4 out of 5 days, but I was so ready  to give up on day one. I was so tired an stressed by Monday night I was ready to eat an entire chocolate cake. It took all the will power I had to keep up my commitment to a new healthier me, and to not use food as therapy.

This is going to be a long semester...

The Old Me

I will beat her

I will eat cleaner

I know her weaknesses

I know her strengths

I've lost to her before

But not this time

She is going down

I have the advantage

because I know her well

She is the Old Me

-Bonnie Pfiester

The old me was tired, and lazy, ate too much and didn't move enough. The old me made lots of excuse and rationalizations believed them all. The old me hated running. The old me couldn't live through a day without scones. I know my weaknesses, and I actively avoid them. I know my strengths and I work so hard to use them to my advantage. The old me is gone. I'm so happy with the new me. I can't wait to see where she takes me. I know the new me will meet her goals. I don't ever want to be the old me EVER again.

Who are you today? Is it who you want to be, or do you wish you could leave that girl behind? It's your choice, you can be whoever you want to be, you are in control.... so who are you going to be?

I take it back...

As it turns out vacation may have been the best thing for my body. I have lost all the weight I thought  gained plus some. I am down albs this week! I have lost a pound every day since Tuesday. It's pretty crazy.

I know I read a few places that once you start a new diet at first your body drops a ton of weight because it's shocked by the change. But slowly your weight loss decreases and may even stop because your basil metabolic rate ( the calories you burn just to sit around all day and exist) drops. The less you eat, the less your body needs to sustain itself. I am guessing this is the reason people plateau and the same reason people suggest cheat days. I have found that if I increase my calories intake just once or twice during the week I see better results. Obviously on vacation I was off the wagon for 3 days, so that huge spike in caloric intake followed by my quick return to my normal routine gave my body the jolt it need to kick start my weight loss again.

So I take back all the negative things I said about vacations, they totally rock :)

Start of the week weight: 184.7
End weight: 177.4

Motivational quote for the day... (this one made me smile)

20 down... 30 to go.

So I met my first goal, to lose 20 lbs by the time we went to Georgia. Now I feel my motivation slipping, so it's time to rev up my motivation with goal two, lose 30 lbs by thanksgiving. I plan to eat enough chocolate pie for 10 people :) so I have to drop that weight before then. I don't want any guilt going into the food holiday of the year. I just want to enjoy the holiday with my family and feel fabulous at the same time.

I signed up a few months ago for the Venus de Miles race in September, which means I actually have to keep up my training to be ready, and I have to get my butt back into biking! I have become such a lover of running I have totally forgotten my poor bike, and the fact that I signed up to ride 28 miles in a few months!

So the plan for tomorrow is to hop back on my bike and ride, 14 miles. Weekdays will be for running weights, and stationary bike, and weekends will be for cycling.

I think this last 30lbs will be a bit harder to lose the the first 20. I start school next week, 4 classes, plus an internship. My schedule is going to be packed. Plus the lighter you get, and the more fit you are, the less calories you burn working out.  My 3.25 mile runs used to burn around 499 calories, now I burn closer to 320 for 3.25 miles. Which  means either running longer, or running faster to ramp up the calorie burn.

Alright, so 20lbs down, and 30 to go.... ready, set go!

Weighing in week 10

Weight: 178.4

Waist: 38.5"
Arm: 12.5"
Thigh: 22.5"
Butt: 41"
Calf: 16"



Week 5 

Weight: 185.8

Waist: 39"
Arm: 13"
Thigh: 23 13/16"
Butt: 42"
Calf: 16.5"


Total loss is 5 weeks 7.4lbs 

1/2" from my arm
1/2" from my waist
1" from my thighs
1" from my butt
1/2" from my calf

Vacations Kill (your diet)

We all love vacation, it's a time to get away, to relax, to have fun. And usually all this fun and relaxation includes food, and not just the boring foods you have been getting used to on your diet, but "fun," super fried, super fatty foods. And if you are visiting family, they love to feed you. It's recipe for disaster.

Since starting my weight loss journey I have been convinced that "diets" should be something that you can do all the time. Something that can even be manageable on vacation. But I had no idea how hard that would actually be.

I ran every morning on vacation starting with the day of our flight. I ran between 3-5 miles, and there were some pretty good hills thrown in there. I attempted to track carefully and avoid bad foods for the first 3 days of my trip, but with dinner parties, and lunch outings, and new fun foods to try I failed miserably by day 4, and it didn't get better the next two days.

I was so sure all the running would keep the pounds aways regardless, but I was wrong. I managed to gain 4 pounds, which will now take me 2 weeks to get rid of. My measurements are all still the same, which is great, but those 4 pesky pounds I thought I conquered are back and staring me right in the face in big red blinking numbers. I'm so disappointed.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVED every minute of my trip and I had so much fun, I just wish all that fun didn't come at a cost. It is so hard to keep your healthy lifestyle going on vacation. And I went to the south, it's a wonder I didn't gain 40 lbs with all the delicious eateries. There was a cute sign I saw that said, The South: a place where macaroni and cheese is a vegetable. It's cute and funny, but a little true. It was so hard to find even a subway in most areas. And I take for granted all the whole foods around us, because those are extremely hard to come by down there too. You think you can avoid eating out, but it becomes an every day occurrence when you travel. We did get lucky and find a whole foods and had a salad one afternoon fro their salad bar, and the next day at the aquarium we were able to get a salad too. My grandmother had the most amazing garden with the most delicious looking veggies, and I should have eaten more of those while I was there, but let's be real, when someone mentions beignets squash seems a little less appealing.

And its' not just the extra pounds of vacation either, it's the exhaustion from being on the go, the sluggish digestion from eating things you aren't used too and traveling. I think my body is going to feel so energized and happy this week.

This morning I am excited to get back into my routine, and run, and eat crazy healthy like I did before. I can almost taste the veggie plate now! I am trying to remind myself that the spike in calories for a few days may have helped to reset my BMR a tad and this week of healthy eating and working out should shock my system into rapid weight loss like the first week I started. We'll see.

What 20 pounds mean to me

I am 178 lbs this morning.... 20 pounds gone, well 19.6, but it's so close I'm saying 20.

20 pounds is huge, 20 pounds is  half way maker for me. I want dot lose about 40-50 pounds and I am half way there.

I felt like this mile marker deserved a blog post.

I feel sexier, I feel happier, I feel lighter, I feel healthier.

I am sexier, I am happier, I am lighter, and I am healthier.


I am strong, I am determined, and I know I can do this.  20 lbs ago I wasn't so sure. I wasn't so confident. In fact I was quite sure I was never going to lose the weight. I was pretty sure  I was physically incapable of losing weight and I was destined to be fat forever.

But here I am 20 pounds gone in just 8 weeks I have change my body, and all I  had to do was change my mind.... All I had to do was get up and do it, really do it.

It has been worth it for so many reasons. The way my husband looks at me ALL the time. He always thought I was beautiful, but now he can't stop looking at me. He can't stop telling me how amazing I look, how much I have changed. He insists it's not just the weight, it's who I am now. He says I am different, I am happy, I am more confident, I feel sexy and it shows everyday.

I am so proud of myself, I set a goal to lose 20 lbs before our summer trip this year and I reached my goal. I am so proud of myself for sticking with it, even when I didn't want too, and even when I felt like giving up.

I'm only half way, but I feel so motivated and so happy with my progress I know the next 20lbs will be a breeze... (hopefully :))

179.4 :)

I spent the whole week being sick, which totally sucks, but I didn't let that get me down. I ran almost every day. Honestly I might have over down it  tad, but I lost a pound this week! And I broke 180, I am officially in the 170's!! It's so exciting. I haven't been in the 170's since 2009. Of course my goal weight is around 145, but this is huge for me! I am 2 pounds away from losing 20 lbs and it's only been 57 days!

I am so glad I stuck to it. I'm so glad I did it. I was thinking what if I didn't start? What if I let the last  3 months go by and I hadn't done anything?

If you let the last 3 months pass you by start today! Get up, get motivated, it is so worth it. Tell yourself this is the last day I will be fat and unhealthy and mean it!